Method and Tool for Manufacturing of Build Up Products

ABSTRACT

A tool for producing composite objects, including a first and a second material path, along which a first and second sheet material are stepwise feedable. Along the first and second material paths there are disposed a number of processing stations for processing the first and second sheet materials by shearing, punching, pressing, bending etc. The first and second material paths intersect one another and in the zone of intersection an assembly station is disposed for joining together or assembling component parts from the first and second material paths. A method of producing from sheet material a composite object includes the steps of stepwise feeding a first sheet material in a first feeding direction, the sheet material being processed between certain feeding steps, feeding a second sheet material stepwise in a second feeding direction, the second sheet material being processed between certain feeding steps. The first and second component parts are assembled together and caused to leave the tool in the assembled state.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a method of producing from sheetmaterial a composite object comprising the steps: that a first sheetmaterial is fed stepwise in a first feeding direction of a first feedinglength through a tool from a first infeed section to a dischargesection, the first sheet material being, at least between certainfeeding steps, processed by shearing, punching, pressing, bending, etc.

The present invention also relates to a tool for producing from sheetmaterial a composite object and comprises: a first material path,extending through the tool and along which a first sheet material isstepwise feedable, of a first feeding length, the first material pathdisplaying a number of processing stations for processing the firstsheet material by shearing, punching, pressing, bending, etc.

In the manufacture of composite objects, i.e. objects which consist ofat least two but possibly more component parts, taking as a point ofdeparture sheet material, it has previously been the practice tomanufacture, in a first tool, a first component part which is inprinciple completely finished. Besides, in a second, possibly third orfourth tool, a second or possibly a third or fourth component part hasbeen produced. The thus produced component parts have subsequently beenjoined together to produce the finished object. As regards this joiningtogether or assembly, various techniques have been employed, for exampleriveting, screwing, welding, seaming and possibly also gluing.

In the production of the component parts included in the object, thesehave as a rule been handled in bulk. This implies that the assembly andjoining together of the component parts after their production hasafforded major problems in automation and machine execution. Theproblems that in such instance are encountered are the picking ofcomponent parts from a bulk stock, their specific orientation, as wellas positioning of the oriented component parts. In certain cases, forexample when the component parts show a tendency to catch in oneanother, it has hardly been possible to carry out the above-mentionedorientation and positioning at all.

While, in certain contexts, it has been possible to automate theassembly of the component parts, such automation has required large andexpensive machinery. From this it follows that assembly and joiningtogether of the component parts is often carried out manually, and oftenin cheap labour countries.

In manual assembly, despite the utilisation of a workforce from thesecheap labour countries, such costs have often proved to be at a highlevel because of transport costs, more or less defective precision andresultant poor quality and a high percentage of rejects.

The present invention has for its object to obviate the prior artproblems. In particular, the present invention has for its object todesign the method intimated by way of introduction such that, in one andthe same tool, it is possible to manufacture a composite object up tothe completely finished state or at least so far that the componentparts included in the composite object are joined together. The presentinvention further has for its object to design the method such thatproductivity will be high, precision good and costs low, even inmoderately large series. Finally, the present invention has for itsobject to design the method such that manufacture of the component partsincluded in the composite object may take place wholly independently ofone another right up to the moment when they are assembled.

The present invention further has for its object to design the toolintimated by way of introduction Such that this offers the same oranalogous qualities compared with the method according to the invention.

The objects forming the basis of the present invention will be attainedin respect of the method, if this is characterised in that at least asecond sheet material is fed through a second feeding section stepwiseinto the tool in a second feeding direction, and of a second feedinglength, that the second sheet material, at least between certain feedingsteps, is processed into wholly or partly finished second componentparts of the object by shearing, punching, pressing, bending etc., thatthe second component parts in the tool are joined together with thefirst component parts to form the object, wholly or partly finished fromthe first sheet material, and are caused to leave the tool in theassembled state in the first feeding direction.

Given that the joining together of the two component parts takes placein one and the same tool, both orientation and positioning of thecomponent parts is simple, since these are defined by the tool,

The objects forming the basis of the present invention will be attainedin respect of the tool, if this is characterised by at least a secondmaterial path along which a second sheet material is stepwise feedable,of a second feeding length, there being disposed along the secondmaterial path a number of processing stations for processing the secondsheet material by shearing, punching, pressing, bending etc., a stationfor joining together or assembling wholly or partly finished firstcomponent parts produced from the first sheet material with wholly orpartly finished second component parts produced from the second sheetmaterial being disposed in a zone of intersection between the first andthe second material paths.

By means of these characterising features in respect of the tool,advantages will be afforded which are totally analogous with thoseadvantages that are attained by the design of the

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detailhereinbelow with particular reference to the accompanying Drawings. Inthe accompanying Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lower part included in a complete toolwithout any workpieces;

FIG. 2 shows the tool part according to FIG. 1 now with workpiecesplaced therein;

FIG. 3 is a section taken through a complete tool in the closed state,comprising the tool parts 1 and 2 and provided with workpieces; and

FIG. 4 is atop plan view of the workpieces illustrated in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described for purposes ofexemplification with reference to a given tool, but since the type ofmanufactured object may vary widely, it will readily be perceived thatthe exact formation and design of the tool may vary greatly from onesituation to another depending on the design and construction of themanufactured object.

The invention will be exemplified as applied in a vertically operatingpress. However, in certain cases the working direction of the press maybe horizontal, without this circumstance in any way affecting theprinciples of the present invention.

A press of the type which is intended for practical application of thepresent invention has a lower clamping table on which a lower tool halfor part may be clamped. The press has a press slide which isreciprocally movable in relation to the clamping table and on which anupper tool half or part may be mounted. In one working stroke of thepress, the press slide is moved in a downward direction towards theclamping table a certain distance until one working stroke is completed,whereafter the press slide is once again raised.

A tool for carrying the present invention into effect has a lower baseplate 1 by means of which the lower part of the tool is secured on theclamping table. The lower tool part further has a lifting plate 2 whichis movable in the vertical direction in relation to the base plate. Thelifting plate is spring-biased in an upward direction and can thus,during one working stroke, be pressed a certain distance downwardstowards the base plate. The lifting plate serves for supporting theoften band-shaped sheet material which is the object of processing inthe tool.

The base plate 1 has fixedly mounted dies 26, 27 and similar processingcomponents which, when the lifting plate is pressed downwards, come intoabutment with the underside of the workpiece so that processing of theworkpiece may take place.

The upper part of the tool (shown only in FIG. 3) has an upper fixingplate 23 which is intended for mounting on the press slide. Further, theupper part of the tool has a retainer plate or sheet retainer plate 24which is movable in the vertical direction in relation to the fixing,plate. The retainer plate is spring-biased in the downward direction butcan be pressed upwards against the spring action during a workingstroke.

The retainer plate 24 is intended to come into abutment with the upperside of the workpiece during a working stroke in order to hold theworkpiece in position but also, in certain situations, to preventbuckling, folding or the like in the workpiece.

On the underside of the upper fixing plate, there are disposed punching,pressing, shearing tools and the like which, during a working stroke,pass through corresponding openings in the retainer plate 24 in order tocooperate with dies 26, 27, shearing tools or the like disposed on thebase plate 1.

During a working stoke, the upper tool part is lowered until theretainer plate 24 comes into contact with the upper face of theworkpiece. Thereafter, the retainer plate and the lifting plate 2 will,as a rigid unit, be forced downwards together so that processing of theworkpiece located between them will take place. The scrap which maypossibly be separated in this operation leaves the tool at least partlyunder the action of forces of gravity in a downward direction.

After completed processing of the workpiece, the upper tool part israised, whereafter the lifting plate 2 and the retainer plate 24 and theworkpiece lying between them are lifted to the starting position,whereafter the upper tool part continues to be lifted so that thelifting plate comes to a distance from the lower tool part and theworkpieces or workpiece located therein.

FIG. 1 shows in perspective obliquely from above a lower part of a toolfor carrying the present invention into effect, m the Figure, referencenumeral 1 relates to a base plate (the base plate of the tool) andreference numeral 2 to a lifting plate. In such instance, as wasmentioned above, the base plate 1 is intended to be secured on aclamping table in a press.

The lifting plate 2 is, as was mentioned above, movable in a verticaldirection in relation to the base plate 1 and is, in the heightdirection, movably guided in relation to the base plate by means ofguides 3. While not being apparent from the Figure, there is a space inthe vertical direction between the underside of the lifting plate 2 andthe underside of the base plate 1.

Further, the lifting plate 2 is spring-biased in an upward direction,i.e. away from the base plate 1.

The base plate 1 further displays guides 4 in which are accommodatedcorresponding guides on an upper part (not shown in the Figure) of thetool. The purpose of the guides 4 and the corresponding guides on theupper part of the tool is, during a working stroke, to accurately guidethe upper part of the tool and the lower part of the tool in relation toone another in the transverse direction (transversely of the directionof movement of the press).

Further, the base plate 1 has upwardly directed arrest means 5 which areintended to enter into abutment with corresponding arrest means disposedon an upper fixing plate in the upper part of the tool in order therebyto restrict the relative displacement of the upper part of the tool andits lower part in relation to one another.

The lifting plate 2 has at least a first infeed section 6 and a secondinfeed section 7, as well as a discharge section 8. From the firstinfeed section 6 to the discharge section 8, there extends a firstfeeding direction 9. A second feeding direction 10 extends from thesecond infeed section 7 in towards the first feeding direction, and sothe second feeding direction is transversely directed in relation to thefirst. The second feeding direction makes all angle with the first,where the angle may vary within broad limits and may possibly be a rightangle. In FIG. 1, the first feeding direction is intimated by the brokenline arrow 9 and the second feeding direction by the broken line arrow10. It is apparent with all desirable clarity that the two feedingdirections 9 and 10 intersect one another.

The sheet material, as a rule band-shaped, which is fed to the firstinfeed section 6 and the second infeed section 7, is advanced stepwiseby a first feeder mechanism and a second feeder mechanism, respectively.These two feeder mechanisms are wholly independent of one another apartfrom in one respect, namely that a feeding step may take place only whenthe tool is open. The feeding movements that are carried out willtherefore take place synchronously. However, it is fully possible thatthe second feeder mechanism is idling when the first feeder mechanismexecutes one or more feeding steps and vice versa. It should also beobserved that the feeding length of the feeder mechanisms may beselected to be totally independent of one another.

Along the first feeding direction 9, there is disposed a first materialpath 11 which is defined by or limited by two guides 12 and 13 disposedalong the feeding direction 9. The purpose of the guides 12 and 13 is toguide through the tool a first sheet material, which as a rule is strip-or band-shaped, so that this follows the first material path in astepwise feeding through the tool.

Along the second feeding direction 10, the tool has a second materialpath 14 which is also defined by guides 15 and 16 whose purpose is toguide a second sheet material, most generally in the form of a strip orband, along the second feeding direction 10 and along the secondmaterial path 14.

The width of the two material paths 11 and 14 may be selected to betotally independent of one another, and depends entirely on theappearance of the object being manufactured.

Along the first material path 11, there are disposed a number ofprocessing stations 17 for processing the first sheet material, forexample by shearing, punching, pressing, bending, seaming, hole-makingetc. In principle, the processing stations may be designed to executeall of the working operations which can be carried out in a tool of thetype described here.

Exactly where the processing stations 17 are located, how many they arein number and what working duties they are designed to carry out dependon the type of object which the tool is to manufacture. Thus, majorvariations are possible.

In analogy with the first material path 11, the second material path 14also has a number of processing stations 18 for processing the secondsheet material at least between certain of the feeding steps which thesecond sheet material undergoes during operation.

Also as regards the second material path 14, both the positioning,number and design of the processing stations may vary considerably andare wholly dependent on the type of processing that is to be carried outon the second sheet material.

The number of processing stations 17 and 18 along both of the materialpaths 11 and 14, respectively need not be equal, but is selected independence on the construction of the object to be manufactured, inparticular the construction of the component parts which together formthe composite object.

In the zone of intersection between the first and the second feedingdirections 9 and 10, respectively, but also in the zone of intersectionbetween the first and the second material paths 11 and 14, respectively,there is disposed an assembly or joining station 19 which is designed atleast partly to assemble component parts produced in the first materialpath with component parts produced in the second material path. In thisinstance, it is sufficient that the two component parts are assembled orjoined enough for their mutual positions not to be deranged when theyare fed further along the first material path 11.

In addition, there is disposed in the zone of intersection between thetwo material paths 11 and 14 a separator device 20 whose purpose is toseparate one component part produced along the second material path fromthe immediately following component part along the second material pathso that the separated component part may continue to move along thefirst feeding direction 9 without being prevented by the second sheetmaterial or component parts produced therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1, but both the firstsheet material and the second sheet material are in place in the tool,as well as component parts produced from them. FIG. 4 shows separately,straight from above, the two sheet materials.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 2 and 4 taken together that a first sheetmaterial in the form of a band 21 is disposed on the first material path11 and that a second sheet material in the form of a band 22 is disposedon the second material path 14. It will further be apparent from FIG. 4that both of the sheet material bands 21 and 22 are disposed to movestepwise in the first feeding direction 9 and in the second feedingdirection 10, respectively.

In FIG. 2, that processing station which is located furthest to theright in FIG. 1 and which is to be considered as the first processingstation has been given reference numeral 17 a.

Correspondingly, the subsequent processing station in the feedingdirection 9 illustrated in FIG. 1 has been given reference numeral 17 band the last processing station in the feeding direction has been givenreference numeral 17 c. Corresponding reference numerals have beeninserted in FIG. 4.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 2 and 4 taken together that, inprocessing station 17 a, the contour for a plate is cut out of the band21 at the same time as holes are made in the plate, and the holes mayserve the purpose of acting as assembly holes for the object produced inthe tool, but may also function as guides for positional determinationof the first band 21 in the tool by cooperation with guide pins providedin the tool.

In processing station 17 b, a rectangular hole is made in the plate cutout in processing station 17 a. Finally, in processing station 17 c, thefinished object is separated from more or less finished objects lyingbehind.

In analogy with that disclosed above, the processing stations in FIGS. 2and 4 along the second material path 14 have been given referencenumerals 18 a and 18 b. It will be apparent from FIG. 4 that, inprocessing station 18 a, a blank is cut out of the second sheet materialband 22, the blank then, in a subsequent processing station 18 b, beingformed into a spring clip which is shown in perspective in FIG. 2 and isshown straight from above in FIG. 4.

As was intimated above, in the zone of intersection between the twosheet bands 21 and 22, there is disposed the assembly station 19.Further, the separator device 20 has been marked in both FIG. 2 and inFIG. 4.

The above-described working steps and the appearance of the componentparts that have been produced on the basis of the two sheet materialbands 21 and 22 may vary considerably and are completely dependent onthe type of object which is to be manufactured in the tool.

It will be apparent from FIG. 2 that the second sheet material band 22,when entering the zone of intersection with the first sheet materialband 21, and in particular those component parts which have beenproduced from the second sheet material band will arrive on the upperside of the first sheet material band 21. Alternatively, it may alsopossibly be conceivable to cause component parts produced from thesecond sheet material band 22 to arrive on the underside of the firstsheet material band 21 or component parts produced therefrom. For thisreason, the height level in the tool of the first infeed section 6 andthe second infeed section 7 differ. The difference in height levelcorresponds to the material thicknesses of the two sheet bands 21 and22. In the alternative involving the second sheet band 22 lyinguppermost, the height difference corresponds to the material thicknessof the first sheet band. The corresponding applies such that, when thesecond sheet band 22 lies under the first sheet band 21, the heightdifference corresponds to the material thickness of the second sheetband 22.

It should be mentioned and emphasised that it is entirely possible thatthe material thicknesses of the two sheet bands can vary withinconsiderable limits and they may naturally also have different valuesbetween them. It is also possible that the material in both of the sheetbands 21 and 22 may consist of or comprise completely differentmaterials and also of different qualities of one and the same basic typeof material. Thus, it is fully possible that the first sheet band 21consists of or comprise steel while the second sheet band 22 consists ofor comprises aluminium, or vice versa. Further, the width of the twosheet bands 21 and 22 may differ considerably. Finally, as was mentionedabove, the feeding length may also vary between the sheet bands.

The assembly station or device 19 shown in the Drawings is designed forrealising assembly by means of riveting. However, according to thepresent invention, it is equally expedient to use an assembly stationwhich operates by welding, screw union, seaming or uses any otherjoining process.

FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross section through the complete tool during aworking stroke, taken along the section line A-A in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3,the reference numerals in accordance with the foregoing Figures havebeen marked. In addition, the upper fixing plate of the tool has beengiven reference numeral 23, while its retainer plate or sheet retainerplate has been given reference numeral 24. It should be pointed out thatthe retainer plate 24 is produced from an upper plate section and alower plate section which are joined together by screw union to form arigid unit.

Furthest to the left in FIG. 3 is shown a punch 25 which is lowered downinto a corresponding die 26, in which event the punch and the dieconstitute that processing station which, in FIGS. 2 and 4, was givenreference numeral 17 c. Furthermore, a die 27 for a shearing tool isintimated at processing station 17 a as being included in thisprocessing station.

On operation of the above-described tool, a first sheet material, as arule in strip- or band form, for example the sheet material band 21, isfed into the tool via a first infeed section 6 of a first feedinglength, and along a first feeding direction 9 to a discharge section 8at the opposing end of the tool. The feeding along the feeding direction9 takes place stepwise when the tool is open. At least between certainfeeding steps along the feeding direction 9, the first sheet material isprocessed by shearing, punching, pressing, bending etc. according torequirements as dictated by the form of the object which is in theprocess of being manufactured in the tool.

A second sheet material, most generally in the form of strip or sheetband 22, is fed via a second infeed section 7 of a second feeding lengthinto the tool along a second feeding direction 10. The feeding along thefeeding direction 10 also takes place stepwise and also here processingtakes place of the second sheet band 22 at least between certain feedingsteps along the feeding direction 10.

The first and the second feeding lengths may be the same, but may alsodiffer to a considerable extent.

According to the present invention, it is also possible to feed in athird or more sheet material bands in corresponding feeding directionswhich intersect the first feeding direction 9.

When the second sheet band 22 has reached a zone of intersection betweenthe first feeding direction 9 and the second feeding direction 10, anassembly or joining together takes place of such component parts of thefinished object as were manufactured starting from the first sheetmaterial band 21 with such component parts as were manufactured startingfrom the second sheet material band 22. Thereafter, the object composedof the component parts is fed further from the joining or assembly zonealong the first feeding direction 9 and out together through thedischarge section 8. Further processing of the object composed from thecomponent parts may take place in the tool between the assembly orjoining zone and the discharge section.

As a rule, component parts produced from the two sheet bands 21 and 22will be placed one on top of the other. For this reason, the sheet bandsare fed along different height levels through the tool, where thedifference between these sheet levels corresponds to the materialthickness of the sheet band located lowermost.

Immediately before the assembly or joining zone, that component partwhich is located in the joining zone is separated from the componentpart located behind it so that the latter component part does notprevent further feeding of the former component part in the firstfeeding direction 9 away from the assembly or joining zone in adirection towards the discharge section 8.

The processing of the two sheet material bands 21 and 22 takes placewith synchronous movements in the tool, since the processing stations 17and 18 are disposed on a plate which is formed into a rigid unit andwhich may possibly be composed of smaller plates.

In the foregoing, it has been described how the two material pieceswhich form the basis of manufacture according to the present inventionare intended to be sheet material. Naturally, this term includes anytype of sheet material, regardless of its physical make-up, materialthickness and width. In one practical embodiment, the term sheetmaterial is in most cases likely to be construed as band or strip-shapedsteel sheet. However, the term also encompasses other metals and metalalloys, such as aluminium, brass, copper, stainless steel, titanium etc.it should further be emphasised that the material properties in theprocessed material workpieces may vary considerably so that the onematerial band may consist, for instance, of or comprise spring steel,while the other material band consists of or comprises a considerablysofter and plastically deformable material. In certain situations,plastics materials are also conceivable as constituting one of thematerial workpieces processed according to the present invention.

The above-described tool has a first and second infeed section 6 and 7,respectively. According to the present invention however, it is possibleto use additional infeed sections, additional feeding directions andadditional material paths so that the finished product may be composedfrom at least two, but also three or more component parts which areproduced each from its material piece, where each material piece is fedvia its own infeed section. In the situation involving three or moreinfeed sections, feeding directions and material paths, the constructionis totally analogous with the above-described situation involving twoinfeed sections, etc.

1. A method of producing from sheet material a composite objectcomprising the steps: feeding a first sheet material stepwise in a firstfeeding direction of a first material path of a first feeding lengththrough a tool from a first infeed section to a discharge section, thefirst sheet material being, at least between certain feeding steps,processed feeding at least a second sheet material through a secondfeeding section stepwise into the tool in a second feeding direction ofa second material path of a second feeding, length, the second sheetmaterial, at least between certain feeding steps, being processed intowholly or partly finished second component parts of the object, andjoining the second component parts in the tool together with the firstcomponent parts of the object, wholly or partly finished from the firstsheet material, and causing the joined first and second components toleave the tool in the assembled state in the first feeding direction. 2.The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second feeding directionis caused to intersect the first feeding direction.
 3. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the second sheet material is fed to the toolon a higher or lower height level than the height level of the firstsheet material, and where the difference in height level corresponds tothe material thickness in die first and second sheet material,respectively.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least aninitial stage of the assembling operation is carried out in the zone ofintersection between the first feeding direction and the second feedingdirection.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the secondcomponent part is separated from the immediately subsequent secondcomponent part in the second feeding direction, at the same time as atleast one initial stage of the assembling operation with the firstcomponent part is carried out.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the first sheet material and the second sheet material are givendifferent material thicknesses.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the first sheet material and the second sheet material are givendifferent material compositions or properties.
 8. The method as claimedin claim 1, wherein the processing of the first and the second sheetmaterials is carried out with synchronous movements.
 9. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the processing of the first and the secondsheet materials as well as the assembling of the first and the secondcomponent parts are carried out with synchronous movements.
 10. A toolfor producing from sheet material composite objects, comprising: a firstmaterial path, extending through the tool and along which a first sheetmaterial is stepwise feedable, the first material path beings of a firstfeeding length, the first material path displaying a number ofprocessing stations for processing the first sheet material at least asecond material path along which a second sheet material is stepwisefeedable, the second material path being of a second feeding length,there being disposed along the second material path a number ofprocessing stations for processing the second sheet material, and astation for joining together or assembling wholly or partly finishedfirst component parts of the object produced from the first sheetmaterial with wholly or partly finished second component parts of theobject produced from the second sheet material being disposed in a zoneof intersection between the first and the second material paths.
 11. Thetool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first and the second materialpaths are disposed together as a rigid unit.
 12. The tool as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the first material path has a first infeed section anda discharge section, that the second material path has a second infeedsection and that the second material path is disposed intersecting thefirst.
 13. The tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the material pathsare at least partly defined by guides which are disposed on a commonplate or plates included in the tool and joined together as a rigidunit.
 14. The tool as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second infeedsection is disposed on a higher or lower height level than the firstinfeed section, the difference in height level corresponding to thethickness of the first and the second sheet materials, respectively. 15.The tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the station for assemblingincludes means for riveting, screwing, welding or seaming.
 16. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first sheet material isprocessed by at least one of shearing, punching, pressing, and bending.17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second sheet materialis processed by at least one of shearing, punching, pressing, andbending.
 18. The tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processingstations are adapted to process the first sheet material by at least oneof shearing, punching, pressing, and bending.
 19. The tool as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the processing stations are adapted to process thesecond sheet material by at least one of shearing, punching, pressing,and bending.